5 Questions with Stefan Jacoby

President and CEO of Volvo.

Stefan Jacoby is the former head of Volkswagen of America who was tapped to become CEO of Volvo Cars worldwide. After laying the groundwork for aggressive growth for VW in the U.S., he is embarking on increasing Volvo's worldwide sales with the backing of Chinese automaker Geely.

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There has been some confusion about whether Volvo would continue as a mainstream make or would be moving upmarket. In what direction do you plan to take Volvo?

We are definitely moving upmarket. We are not yet truly premium and not a volume brand. We are moving toward premium because in the volume market, we would get eaten up by the competition, including VW and the Koreans. Volvo is more global, with a higher share in North America and China. We need to develop a new premium brand character that is different from the Germans. If you copy them, you will never be better than them.

What will this positioning look like?

As we upgrade the brand, we want to develop a new premium definition, to be a true alternative to the mainstream luxury brands. One way to distinguish us is through design and safety as well as the human interface between man and machine. We do have the heritage of Scandinavian design which is reduced lines, elegant materials. We want to build this brand on quality, reliability, safety and innovation.

How does the human interface factor into this equation?

The human/machine interface is becoming important because it is part of the premium experience. We will design our cars around people, be more intuitive, but there is no question that the driver is in control.

How does the relationship with Geely affect Volvo?

It is more of a financial holding than an industrial one—the businesses are separate. The advantage is that Geely is run by an entrepreneur who understands the car business and the investment cycle of creating and selling cars. And that entrepreneurship is enabling us to be a fast moving company. We can't beat the others with our size, but we can beat them with scale and speed. Geely is also helping us establish our manufacturing capability in China.

Where does motorsports fit into the overall strategy?

On the global scale, there isn't a need to be in it at the highest levels. We let the local businesses participate at more of a grass-roots level.